Some of the measures announced in the Budget 2016-17 is set to boost e-governance programs across the state and center.
India’s finance minister Arun Jaitely, presenting the Budget for 2016-17, said the growth of economy is accelerated to 7.6 percent in 2015-16.
India government is giving a statutory backing to AADHAR platform to ensure benefits reach the deserving.
Rs 2.87 lakh crore will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.
A dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund will be created in NABARD with an initial corpus of about Rs 20,000 crore.
A sum of Rs 38,500 crore allocated for MGNREGS.
Stand Up India Scheme will facilitate at least two projects per bank branch. This will benefit at least 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs.
Higher Education Financing Agency will be set-up with initial capital base of Rs 1,000 crore. There will be Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheets to be set-up.
Allocation for skill development is Rs 1804 crore. There will be 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes. The government will set up National Board for Skill Development Certification in association with the industry and academia. Conducting of entrepreneurship Education and Training through Massive Open Online Courses on the cards.
Investment in the road sector, including PMGSY allocation, would be Rs 97,000 crore during 2016-17. Government will approve nearly 10,000 kms of National Highways in 2016-17. The allocation for roads in the budget will be Rs 55,000 crore. Additional Rs 15,000 crore will be raised by NHAI through bonds. The total outlay for infrastructure will be Rs 2,21,246 crore.
Government will introduce bill for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services by using the Aadhar framework. Automation facilities will be provided in 3 lakh fair price shops by March 2017.
It is expected that raising the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87A from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 will lessen tax burden on individuals with income up to Rs 5 lakh. In addition, the proposed increase in the limit of deduction of rent paid under section 80GG from Rs 24,000 per annum to Rs 60,000 will provide relief to those who live in rented houses.
Meanwhile, the central government decided not to hand out hard copies of General Budget 2016-17 on Monday, making a departure from tradition, IANS reported.
The general budget, an exhaustive document, was handed over to journalists in the parliament building from designated counters every year after it was presented in the Lok Sabha.
This year, however, the government decided not to give copies to journalists as part of its bid to go green and save trees.
The general budget runs into hundreds of pages, and has several booklets including the details of allocations to different ministries, plan and revenue expenditure and other financial details.
